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![Playa Boca Ciega, Guanabo, Playas del Este (de La Habana) © sogestour •]• Guanabo © JacobForever panoramio](http://www.particuba.net/villes/guanabo/images/Guanabo_BocaCiega700.jpg) |
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| OUR CASA LIST BEGINS HERE | HABANA DEL ESTE MAP HERE | |||||||
| Located some 30 km or 45 minutes East of La Habana on the autopista called Via Blanca, you'll find this pleasant village, easternmost point of the Playas del Este (Beaches east of Havana), very popular (May to September) with Habaneros mostly during Summer. This area is part of the Ciudad de La Habana province or "Greater Havana". West of here and part of the same stretch along the sea are the tourist-only areas of Tarara, Boca Ciega and Santa Maria del Mar (sort of micro Varadero, at 3 km). And then another nice playa, El Megano. You won't find any casas particulares there, just mid-priced hotels and a couple of aparthotels with their "efficiency units", those all-equipped apartments, an option for prolonged stays. Still, casas would still be more affordable in the long run. From El Megano going east, you are in Guanabo town per se with lots of casas for rent and no high-rise buildings which makes it more pleasant. You can get high at Mirador de Bellomonte (a bar and snack), off and up the Via Blanca at km 24.5. The government has been trying for years to lure some snowbirds (retired Canadians) away from the Florida winter nests by offering a 6-month visa and affordable long term rentals in all-equiped apartment complexes such as Las Terrazas and Los Pinos locally; Islazul (see FYEYE below) offers some individual 1-to-5-bedroom casas all over Guanabo, some attractively-priced for couples sharing the casa (not each other). Oh, well... 
RESTAURANTS :::::: El Piccolo best Italian food around; even better, some claim, than Italian places in the capital El Cubano avenida 5 entre 456 y 458 : complex with muchos vinos de buenos paises (Boca Ciega) ::: Mi Casita de Coral : on main street near Washington, corner 8 : discreet with comida cubana such as preparations of beef, pork, chicken, fish and seafood (Santa Maria del Mar) ::: Mi Cayito (El Pelicano) : on the small pond named Itabo with fish, pork and seafood on a nice terrace from 10 to 6 (Santa Maria del Mar) ::: Pizzeria al Mare : very basic pizza in centre of Guanabo, ave 5/482 ::: Bodegon del Este (Boca Ciega) ::: Bim Bom (Guanabo) ::: La Goleta These two are closed : Ranchon Don Pepe and Pizzeria Mi Rinconcito PALADARES Tropinini C, 5ª nº 49213 entre 492 y 494 Maeda (Quebec 115, e/476 y 478) which according to Footprint offers grilled fare on its open-air terraza as well as inside its aircon indoor dining area : meals 4-9cuc TRANSPORTATION ::: Habana Bus Tour leaves Havana's Parque Central and ends here at some hotels in Playas del Este : 5cuc pp for the day. Schedule here. Stops at Villas Bacuranao, Tarara, Megano and hotels Megano, Tropicoco, Atlantico ::: Official taxis OK in Guanabo (7) 696-6666 (20cuc from downtown Havana) ::: Private taxis for 1 cuc per person (shared old car with 4-5 others ::: City Bus 400 leaves in front of Havana's Capitolio and runs along avenida 5 to the eastern end of town (where one can go to ensure a seat on its return to the capital) : fare 1 Cuban Peso or 4 cents ::: Hershey Electric Train daily departures from Havana's Casablanca station [tel (7) 862-4888] across Havana bay : 4h46, 8h35, 12h48, 16h38 and 20h46 arrival 25 km (and a couple of hours !!!) later : an unforgettable experience for about 80 centavos cuc. The station is in La Regla which can be reached by the passenger ferry (every 15 mins.) from Habana Vieja. Avoid weekends when it's packed; leaves Matanzas and goes by here on its way back around 10h30, 14h30 and 20h30; phone ahead in Matanzas before going to station ::: Viazul bus service used to stop by here on its way to Varadero; it has not for years, unfortunately.  Twice per day, a Viazul bus stops in Guanabo on its way (and back) to Matanzas, Aeropuerto de Varadero and Varadero — Ruta 20 |
The playas del Este
 Playa Veneciana in Guanabo, only steps from Sol-Mar and Nancy Pujol's casas © sogestour •[• In summer, the three main local beaches "of the East" are packed with Habaneros fleeing the torrid city heat and humidity  Playa El Mégano in Santa Maria del Mar — Map here [click] © sogestour  Playa Boca Ciega, between Guanabo and Santa Maria © sogestour  Casa Pujol's patio has palm trees and is right on the water. © sogestour See this map. It's under the last "E" (1RA) of the words Playas del Este © sogestour  From Valenciana beach, a Cuban offers rides on a Hobie Cat. On this day, it seemed overloaded riding a timid wind forecasting a long slow day ... © sogestour •]• One of the numerous casas rented by Islazul, some in quite deserted parts (in winter) of Guanabo : check a map before renting ; )  Installed in the Boca Ciega area, El Cubano is a multi dining room complex with different food fares, some in rooms with cloth table wear and musicians, kinda classy with honest food © unk EVENINGS ::: Cabaret Guanimar, calle 468, angle 5 : outdoor shows at 23h 8-10cuc pp ::: Teatro Avenida, avenida 5 e/476 y 478 : ppopular in summer while in winter, it's teatro por niños ::: Cine Guanabo, calle 480 / ave 5 : showings starting at 17h3 ::: According to Lonely Planet, the local gay spot (Havana's gay community beach meeting place) is a beach bar named La Paté at calle 1 near Mi Cayito at the western end of Santa Maria del Mar. FYEYE ::: The Islazul chain rents dozens of casas in the area. In summer, these are full of Habana familias; in winter some tourists may find these too basic (although very cheap), too quiet (Veneciana and Brisas de Mar are truly deserted) kinda humid and even cold when a windy "frente frio" hits; list here; photos here; tel (7) 832-0939 in La Habana ::: Tourist info Infotur ::: International Clinic on Avenida de Las Terrazas 36 in Santa Maria del Mar Tel (7) 796-1819 GUANABO HOTELS ::: Hotel Gran Via • Hotel Miramar ::: Villa Playa Hermosa SANTA MARIA HOTELS ::: Complejo Atlantico Las Terrazas |
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HEED THE HINTS IN THIS FINE PRINT
::: Make sure that in your first email or phone call you specify that you want to book a room in that particular casa and that you will reconfirm your booking on arrival in Cuba. Unless you only want a room in any house which may be of the same quality, not the specific casa you booked through photos on these websites ::: So as to not abandon expecting owners with empty rooms, reconfirm (or call ahead to cancel) your booking by phone as soon as you can after arriving in Cuba ::: Please write or phone a casa owner to cancel a booking. As late as it may seem, it allows them a chance to rebook. ::: Children under the age of 16 may share a bedroom with adults for free. Specify the child's age when booking. ::: Since October 2010, maximum bedroom capacity is not limited to two adults ::: Also, large casas are not limited to renting only two bedrooms per night. ::: At the end of the casa name, the V signals the casa was suggested by travelers or owners but not verified by the website staff. If you try it and like it, write us about it. ::: Unless otherwise mentioned, the average room rates and service prices are : 20-25cuc per bedroom per night [up to 40+ for 4 in a room]; breakfasts 3-5cuc, dinners 7-10cuc. ::: Any casa particular anywhere in Cuba must have a hot water shower, otherwise it cannot have a permit to rent ::: Please share your Complaints, comments & suggestions webmaster [@]cubacasas.net  |
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BOOK BY PHONE • From Canada and the USA : 011 53 (add phone # preceded by 7 for Guanabo and Playas del Este) • From Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Mexico : 00 53 (add phone # preceded by 7 for Guanabo and Playas del Este) ••• HOW TO DIAL A CUBAN PHONE NUMBER HERE ••• CELL PHONE NUMBERS on our town lists and casa pages are preceded by 05 for calls originating Havana; from anywhere else in Cuba, dial 015 + the 7 digits of the cell. BOOK BY EMAIL :  Click on logo to open a message addressed to that casa in your email application; or right-click to copy address. Spanish vocabulary here. |
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| Click pictures to open page and details. Locate casas on our very own map here. |
See the casas in sequence.
 Click above logo to move on. |
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NANCY PUJOL
Independent ground 2 bedroom casa, shared bath Calle 1ra # 50019, entre 500 y 504. On the sea, about 5 mins. from the town centre, right on the water, steps from Playa Valenciana. Tel. (7) 796-3062  |
VICENTE y CLARITA
Upstairs three-bedroom casa, kitchens, pool, roof Calle 11 # 46805, entre 468 y 470, up the hill from village centre, 400 m from town playa in reparto Bello Monte. Tél. (7) 796 6543  |
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| D'YUYA Independent ground 2 bedroom casa, shared bath Calle J # 50006, entre 500 y 502 up the hill across the highway in reparto Sibarimar. Tel. (7) 796-2354  |
SOL-MAR
Independent upper one-bedroom, bar Calle 1ra (Primera) No. 50017, entre 500 y 504. On the sea, some 5 mins. walk from the center of the village, steps from Playa Valenciana. Tel. (7) 796-3959  |
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MADAY V
Independent two-bedroom casa, equiped kitchen Calle 468 # 915 entre 9 y 11, reparto Bello Monte, 400 meters from the sea. Tel. (7) 796-3955 cell (5) 296-3811  |
YAMILET y GILBERTO V
Independent upstairs two-bedroom casa, kitchen Calle 5ta D # 494A01, entre 494 y 496, centre of village 300 m from playa. Tel.(7) 796 4307  |
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| VILLA ARELIS V Indep. upstairs, two br, ensuites, kitchen, terrace Calle Real # 76 A e/ Sanchez Gomez y Final in the Barreras area of Guanabacoa, 3 km from playa Santa Maria Tel (7) 796-9352 cell 05 284-9589  |
ISABEL y FANJUL V
Indep upstairs two-bedroom casa, equiped kitchen Avenida 3ra No. 320, e/Calles 2a y 3ra in Boca Ciega 70m from the beach. Tel. (7) 796-5678  |
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| Panorama top : Playa Boca Ciega at sunset on a December 07 evening © sogestour •]• Guanabo © JacobForever panoramio | ||||||||
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